New Delhi Latest News

Those parking their vehicles in Connaught Place for longer hours will soon have to pay more with the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) deciding to remove the current cap of Rs 100. At present, those parking their vehicles in CP have to pay Rs 20 per hour for the first five hours and a flat rate of Rs 100 beyond that.

Continuing with its commitment of creating mass awareness towards fast track implementations of Goods and Services Tax , the Confederation of All India Traders unveiled GST White Paper in a conference organised in New Delhi.

The Indian Railways is all set to give a complete makeover to the Rajdhani and Shatabdi trains from October this year under the three-month Project Swarn (Gold) programme. This is being done to enhance the experience of passengers travelling by these premier trains and address frequent passenger complaints

Now, there is some good news for Central government servants and people who are directly or indirectly connected with 7th Pay Commission and hiked salaries. According to a report in NDTV, the government may finalise 7th pay commission allowances, including HRA (House Rent Allowance), later this month. According to National Joint Council of Action (NJCA) convenor Shiv Gopal Mishra, the 7th Pay Commission may be finalised by the end of this month, as reported by NDTV. National Joint Council of Action (NJCA) is a joint organisation of unions representing central government employees. Moreover, the employee union leader who held discussions with top government officials recently, also says that there is a possibility of central government officials getting higher HRA than that recommended by the 7th pay commission, the NDTV report added.

A study on drug abuse among residents of northeast Delhi’s Seemapuri has revealed that at least 80% of the children surveyed in the slum are addicts.

The Society for the Promotion of Youth and Masses (SPYM) that conducted the study following an order by the Juvenile Justice Board found that children as young as seven started abusing drugs in this rural locality.

The study was ordered after six cases of juveniles addicted to drugs indulging in crime were registered in Seemapuri. It points out that most of the parents knew that their children were consuming drugs. But they were either helpless or unperturbed by the problem. The residents of the neighbourhood are mostly addicted to ganja (marijuana), smack (heroin), beer or tobacco.

The findings of the study underlined some of the common factors that often led to addiction – peer pressure, family history, involvement in jobs like rag picking and segregation and easy accessibility.

“A small corner of the city throw up such numbers. There is an immediate need for a study for the entire city to know the extent of drug use. In the national capital, children are easily accessing drug and abusing them,” said Shibendu Bhattacharjee, programme manager of SPYM.

Four days ago, M L Meena was on a morning walk at Delhi Government Officers’ Flats when he met his neighbour, Jayant Andraskar, a 38-year-old lecturer at Pusa Institute of Technology. "He was with his wife and two daughters. It was around 5 am and they were carrying luggage. He told me that he was taking his family on a vacation to Kashmir. With excitement in his voice, he said that they would visit Srinagar, Gulmarg," says Meena.